Fluid meters include sensors used for measuring various gas and liquid values such as volume used, flow rates, temperatures and pressures. Some fluid meters are used to measure consumed volumes of supplied gasses such as natural gas and propane. Other meters are used for measuring flow rates of water or sewage.
Collecting data sensed by fluid meters is conventionally costly in that each meter has to be accessed by service personnel to collect the meter readings and other data. Various techniques for remotely collecting data are known. Unfortunately, a large percentage of fluid meters are powered by batteries that have a limited power life. In general, the battery operated meter's communication interfaces are active only after a physical wired connection or during scheduled time slots to conserve the battery power. After the battery has been depleted, the meter data generally can no longer be wirelessly accessed (until the battery is replaced) and a direct physical connection must be used.